Definitions

• Wave Quarrying - When air is trapped and compressed against a cliff which causes rock fragments to break off the cliff over time.
• Till - Deposits of angular rock fragments in a finer medium
• Submergent Coast - A coast that is sinking relative to the sea level of the time.
• Subaerial Processes - The combination of mass movement and weathering that affects the coastal land above sea.
• SMP - Identifies all of the activities, both natural and human which occur within the coastline area of each sediment cell and then recommends a combination of four actions for each stretch of that coastline: Hold the Line, Advance the Line, Managed Realignment and No Active Intervention
• Sediment Budget - Use data of inputs, outputs, stores and transfers to assess the gains and losses of sediment within a sediment cell.
• Sediment Cell - Sections of the coast bordered by prominent headlands. Within these sections, the movement of sediment is almost contained and the flows of sediment should act in dynamic equilibrium
• Saltation - Smaller sediment bounces along the sea bed, being pushed by currents.The sediment is too heavy to be picked up by the flow of the water.
• Ria - Narrow winding inlet which is deepest at the mouth, formed when sea levels rise causing coastal valleys to flood.
• Plant Succession - Change to a plant community due to growing conditions adapting (eg. sand dunes and salt marshes)
• Permeable - A rock that allows rainwater to pass through it.
• Nearshore - The area before the shore where the wave steepness and breaks before they reach the shore and then reform before breaking on the beach. It extends from the low-tide zone and then out to sea.
• Mass Movement - The falling or movement of rock, often due to Gravity.
• Low-energy Environment - A coast where wave action is predominantly small constructive waves, causing deposition and leading to beach accretion.